4αXY

4αXY is an exhibition developed from the collection of Dr Dick Quan, a noted collector of contemporary art and philanthropist-based in Sydney. Developed for the tenth year anniversary of Gallery 4A, the Asia-Australia Arts Centre.

4αXY is a subversively forward-thinking project featuring a mixture of work, genres, styles and meanings, from Ken Kagami’s irreverent and small sculpture to Shaun Gladwell’s beautifully hypnotic video.

The choice of work in the exhibition reflects Dr Quan’s interest in art. His interests in generational change, challenging accepted aesthetics and the boundaries of art combine in 4αXY. The title of the exhibition is equally multilayered, with Dr. Dick Quan noting that 4αXY stands for ‘Gallery 4A’ with XY being representative of ‘generation X’ and ‘generation Y’. Additionally, the XY can also read as the tenth year, a reminder of the gallery’s anniversary.

The multilayered meanings in the exhibition also reflect the importance of art organisations like Gallery 4A in presenting new artists, new ideas and new dialogues within the art world and community alike. Dr Quan has been a long time supporter of Gallery 4A, and has supported some of the earliest exhibitions at the Gallery in 1997. He has seen the gallery develop from a small operation in a shoebox size space on Sussex Street to its larger incarnation on Hay Street in the middle of Chinatown.

As 2007 marks the ten year anniversary of Gallery 4A, the exhibition 4αXY is a way of recognising the importance of the gallery in ushering in new ways of thinking about our place in the world.